Louisiana Tech football coach Derek Dooley paced the sidelines of a familiar Tiger Stadium field in 2007 in a unique situation.Dooley was in the same place where he coached for five seasons. But for the first time, he was on the opposing sideline.By the time the clock struck double zeros on the scoreboard, the Bulldogs had surrendered 58 points in a humbling loss.”The last time we went down there, we didn’t play very well,” Dooley said. “What I am hoping that we do is go down there and play our best.”He gets another shot Saturday when the Bulldogs visit Tiger Stadium.The 41-year-old Dooley is the seventh youngest coach in the Division-I Football Bowl Subdivision. “We need to get the ‘awe factor’ out when we kick off,” he said. “The good news is we’ve played in this environment before this season.”The Athens, Ga., native coached at LSU for five seasons under former Tiger coach Nick Saban starting in 2000.He began his stint coaching tight ends. Then-junior Robert Royal set an LSU single-season record for touchdowns (5) by a tight end and was named First Team All-Southeastern Conference.Dooley coached running backs for the Tigers in 2003 and 2004, in addition to being recruiting coordinator, among other job titles.Running back Justin Vincent set an LSU freshman record in 2003 by rushing for 1,001 yards and was named Most Valuable Player of both the SEC championship game and the Sugar Bowl en route to the national championship.The Tigers finished atop the SEC in rushing in 2004 with 194 yards per game, led by Alley Broussard and Joseph Addai, a first-round draft choice of the Indianapolis Colts in 2006.”Derek is a very articulate, bright guy,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, according to Dooley’s biography on Louisiana Tech’s athletic Web site. “He’s a great coach and a hard-working guy. He was always a very good recruiter in college, which I think is paramount if you’re going to have success as a college coach.”Dooley said Saban’s guidance is a big reason for the position he is in today.”I wouldn’t be where I am today without his mentoring and him giving me the opportunity,” Dooley said. “I am very appreciative of that.”The Bulldogs have made strides in the right direction under Dooley’s tutelage, more than doubling their win total from 2006 with eight last season in his second year at the helm.Dooley led the Bulldogs to their first bowl victory since 1977 in the Independence Bowl last season against Northern Illinois. The game was their third bowl appearance in more than 20 years since joining FBS.And if the task of running a football program is not daunting enough, Dooley is also the athletic director for Tech. He is the only current coach in college football that also serves as director of athletics.”It would be impossible to do if you didn’t have a lot of good people under you,” said Dooley of balancing both roles. “Certainly during football season, I am never going to compromise my commitment to our team.”But coaching was not always what Dooley wanted to do. Derek Dooley, the son of legendary Georgia coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley, did not immediately follow in his father’s footsteps.”I never really planned on going into coaching,” Derek Dooley said.He attended Georgia Law School after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and then practiced law for more than a year before realizing his true calling.”I do think his influence has happened just by living with him for 18 years,” Derek Dooley said of his father. “Just watching him and being around him have certainly influenced my philosophies on game management and managing the team and people.”Dooley’s accolades have also garnered the respect of current Tigers coach Les Miles.”This Louisiana Tech team’s record is not as good as they would like, but I can tell you that they play better and better,” Miles said. “Derek Dooley is their coach there, and he’s done a great job. If you watch how they play week-in and week-out, you have great respect for them.”Dooley hasn’t cut ties with the place where he spent five years.When Bulldogs senior safety Antonio Baker went down with an apparent leg injury against Boise State, Dooley sought a second opinion from one of the LSU team doctors.”It’s because I have developed some good friendships down there, and I still maintain them,” he said. “They have been very helpful when we need them.”- – – -Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at [email protected]